Wyandotte Café Has License Suspended For Breaking COVID-19 Rules

WYANDOTTE, MI — A Wyandotte café has had its liquor license suspended for violating state-issued health restrictions related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, state authorities said Monday.

On Wednesday, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission ordered an emergency suspension of the liquor license and permits held by Oak Café, 1167 Oak St. in Wyandotte, officials said.

A virtual hearing will be held this week to determine if the suspension should continue and if other fines and penalties should be imposed.

According to a summary suspension order filing, a state investigator began investigating complaints that Oak Café had been allowing indoor gatherings against state orders prohibiting such activity.

When an investigator with the state of Michigan visited the Cafe on Dec. 9, she wrote in her report that she found windows on the front of the building to be "covered up" and the front door to be locked. She went to a side entrance where the door was open, she said in her report, and saw "several patrons seated at the bar drinking alcoholic beverages."

The investigator told a bartender who she was and that the business was violating the order, to which, she said in her report, the bartender ignored her. The investigator contacted police while waiting for the business' owner because the "crowd at the bar was becoming increasingly hostile and the bartender refused to cooperate with the investigator," according to the report.